3 Ways to Boost Your E-Commerce Marketing Campaign
Search engine optimization is so important to the success of your store that even Shopify has a guide on it. It’s very in-depth and detailed, but can also be incredibly daunting for someone who has just started an e-commerce store.
If you don’t have the budget to hire an SEO company, and you have no idea what you’re doing, you may think you’ve got no hope for ranking among your competitors. But that’s simply not true. Here are three very simple ways to rank your site in the search engines so you can start getting traffic and customers.
Make Sure Your On-Page SEO is On Point
On-page SEO means that the page on your website is optimized for search engines. You can read more about it in this guide by Kissmetrics. There are eight things that every page on your website needs, including proper keyword research and integrating social media into your marketing campaigns (more about this later). But one thing that many stores neglect has their links match up with a product name.
Your keyword or product name should be included in the link of your page. If it has numbers or a date, it won’t rank very well.
Here’s an example: You’re selling black light bulbs. You put up a page for it on your e-commerce store. Your link may look like this:
That’s fine for you. You may have cataloged that product by this number so that you can keep tabs on it. But your customer doesn’t know what your product numbers mean. So you need to put the product name in your link. (Your product name usually doubles as your target keyword.) It should look something like this:
This clearly identifies your product for both your customers and search engines. You will rank higher, get more traffic and more sales, just from this one little change.
Create a Blog for Your Store
Your blog can get you traffic, especially when your posts are shareable. Your posts shouldn’t necessarily be about various products or your company. It should be about things that your target audience wants to read.
Let’s go back to the example of lightbulbs. Everyone needs light bulbs for various purposes. Perhaps they need replacement bulbs for their outdoor decorations. Instead of blogging about a product that would fit that situation, create a post or infographic about decorating your backyard for various occasions. You can include barbecues, pool parties, anniversaries and family reunions.
Each of these occasions may require a different type of lighting. Now you can suggest what kind of bulbs they should buy for each occasion and why. Include pictures of the ideal decorations with your lighting in it. That’s something that people will want to share. It’s informative, it’s visual, and it helps them solve a problem.
Target Your Social Media Campaign
All SEO experts agree that one of the best marketing tips is using social media to bring awareness to your brand. If you have an e-commerce store, you may feel like you have to use every available social media website for your store. That’s not true.
You need to go where your audience is. Most of them aren’t shopping around for your product on Facebook. They’re looking at Pinterest or Instagram – places where pictures mean more than bland information. That’s not to say that you can’t find customers on Facebook, but if your niche is visual (jewelry, art, fashion), then you need to use social media that will help you focus strictly on that.
Be sure to post regularly. Some stores post a lot in the beginning, then eventually stop posting altogether. Or they may post sporadically. Neither of those is good. You need to stay in front of your audience. So post no less than a few times a week. Once a day is ideal.
These three suggestions are just the tip of the iceberg for e-commerce SEO. But if you implement them, you will be well on your way to success.
